Sudden Heat
by christmasinacup
Summary: A bit of a songfic. Set right after the season 2 finale, Beckett tries to figure out her feeling for Castle, with some help from the Wicked soundtrack.
1. I'm not that girl

Kate Beckett got home as fast as she could and collapsed onto her bed. She reached for her laptop and put on the Wicked soundtrack. In times of pure frustration and pain like these, it helped to think of her mother. Joanna Beckett had instilled a love in of theater in Kate from a very young age, and even though Wicked had come after her mother was dead, Kate still loved this musical about good and evil. She couldn't believe it when she read about Nikki Heat's fondness for theater in Heat Wave. Castle had either made an extremely lucky guess, or he was stalking her (something she did not consider out of the realm of possibility).

Beckett could still see Castle exiting the precinct with his arm around Gina, his ex-wife. It felt stupid, but part of her had thought that Castle had felt enough for her to not want to be with someone else. It was all in Kate's head. She knew she shouldn't have trusted her feelings for Castle. She was just opening herself up for more pain. Kate got up and went to her kitchen to get a beer. When she returned, she heard the first notes of "I'm Not That Girl." She laughed at her own misery. Of course. She listened to the song and drank her beer, feeling sorry for herself and alone.

"_Gold hair with a gentle curl, that's the girl he chose_

_and heaven knows, I'm not that girl"_

She remembered a moment a few months ago that also reminded her of this song. Castle had been bent over next to her, reading a file over her shoulder, when he turned to her and said, "You smell like cherries."

"_Hands touch, eyes meet, _

_sudden silence, sudden heat"_

The word "heat" made her wince again. Of course. She couldn't escape Castle. She drank the rest of her beer and tossed the bottle into her sink to recycle later. She wanted to sink into a hot bath with a book and forget all about Rick Castle. And if that didn't work, she would go to sleep. Anything to get his blue eyes out of her head….

As Elphaba said, _"Wishing only wounds the heart."_

2 hours later, Kate was soaking in a hot bath. She was without a book, because all she had been able to see on her shelves were _his_ books. She quietly sang the Wicked songs that were stuck in her head to herself. Every time "I'm Not That Girl" popped into her head, she pushed it away. Her phone rang, startling her out of the starting verses of "Popular." She figured it was Lanie, who she promised she would get a drink with tonight. She let it ring. Kate knew Lanie would understand. She would call Lanie tomorrow, they could get lunch and talk about Tom and Castle and everything else. Her phone rang again, and this time Kate decided she'd better answer it. She slowly rose up out of the tub and slipped into her bathrobe.

Just as she was about to pick up her phone, there was a knock at her door. The bathrobe was not the ideal outfit to answer the door in, but she figure it was just Tom, wanting her to reconsider. If it was, would she? Would she still be with him, even though she couldn't go five minutes without thinking of Richard Castle and his adorable little smile, his hypnotic stories? Another knock came, forcing Kate to make a decision. She would open the door and talk to him, but nothing more.

She pulled the door open, and started to say, "Sorry, I was just-"

Castle stepped through the door and she stopped mid-sentence as her mind went blank. This had to be some sort of crazy dream. Castle was in the Hamptons with Gina, probably doing things she didn't want to know about. So why was he standing in her doorframe?

"C-Ca-Castle?," she choked out as he closed the door behind him. "What are you doing here?"

He gulped and looked around the room, avoiding her eyes nervously. She didn't know where to look. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand. She looked up into his eyes and was sucked in instantly. Everything went quiet and she felt her damp skin heat up, as if charged by the electric feeling coming from his eyes. They held eye contact, and she remembered what she was going to say before Gina showed up at the precinct._ I lo-_

"I love you, Kate."

She gaped at him. He _what_? She opened her mouth, but words were lost on her. Her head spun and her mind grappled for an explanation. She looked at her expectantly. She didn't know how to make words come out of her mouth. All she could do was take a step closer to him.

It happened in a matter of seconds. Castle pulled Kate up against him and kissed her. Her lips felt as if they had caught on fire. She kissed back with passion, grasping for all the things she had ever wanted in him. His hands went to her hair, unclipping it from the top of her head and letting the clip fall to the ground. She loved the feeling of his fingers in her hair. They kissed desperately, as if they were unleashing every tiny thing they had felt towards each other in the last year. He moved his hands to her lower back, and a soft moan escaped her lips. He pulled her up to straddle him with impressive strength, and she wrapped her legs around his waist tightly.

He swiftly brought them to her kitchen and sat her on the counter, making it easier for the both of them. As they kissed, they moved in tandem, as if they were a perfect fit. Eventually, they had to come up for air. When they did, Castle leaned his forehead up against Beckett's and smiled, panting slightly. Beckett put her hand on his cheek and whispered, "I love you, too."

After a few moments, they realized there was only one place left for them to go: her bedroom. And so they did.

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><p>Please let me know what you think! If you like it, I may have a second chapter to continue with :)<p> 


	2. The Girl He Chose

So this chapter is very short.. but sweet all the same! Review and enjoy :)

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><p>The next morning, Kate woke up to find Castle next to her in bed. The night before flooded back to her. Every delicious moment of it. She smiled, but that smile slowly deflated when she realized how spontaneous she had been. What if things didn't go well after Castle woke up? She didn't even know how he had ended up in her apartment last night. They hadn't really had a chance to talk since he showed up, they had been…. Preoccupied.<p>

Castle stirred, startling her. He yawned, then turned to face her. His eyes were sleepy. He was smiling, but then he saw Beckett's face. "Are you ok?"

She let out a quiet laugh. "That's a loaded question."

He looked at her enquiringly for an explanation.

"When I asked you if we could talk yesterday, I was going to tell you that Tom and I broke up," she started slowly. "I was going to tell you how I felt."

His eyes widened.

"I love you, Rick. And I want to be with you. But then your ex-wife-" she winced a bit on the inside as she said that. "-showed up and I thought that you didn't feel the same way."

Castle took her hand and sat up in bed, pulling her against his bare chest.

"Do you know why I came back?"

She shook her head, looking up into his eyes.

"To be with you. Because I realized I couldn't live without you. I didn't want to fall asleep last night without you in my arms. Before I saw you kiss Demming last week-"

Kate bit her lip. _Oops._

"-I was going to tell you that I didn't care if didn't feel the same, I wanted you to know how much you meant to me. I needed you to give me a shot. But I saw you with him, and I jumped to same conclusion you did yesterday."

She was overcome with emotion. Most of it was love for him, but part of her as still uneasy. Pushing that small part away, she pulled his face down to hers and kissed him. When they broke apart, she said, "Castle, can I ask you something?"

"Anything," he promised, squeezing her hand.

"Is this for real? I just feel like it's too good to be true, like it'll slip out of my fingers. I mean, you could have anyone, especially your pretty blonde ex-wife, and you choose me?"

He laughed. He actually laughed.

"No one I've ever been with has what you have. Your determination, your strength, you beauty… something about you draws me in, Kate. Every time I would tackle you to the ground in an attempt to save your life, I would memorize the way your body felt against mine, praying for you to feel the same thing I felt."

"Oh, Castle…," Kate said lovingly, kissing him again. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down on top of him, kissing with longing. She broke the kiss for just a moment, their foreheads and noses touching.

"I love you, Castle."

"Always?"

"Always."


End file.
